A New Way of Seeing: The History of Art in 57 Works

by Kelly Grovier

From a carved mammoth tusk (c. 40,000 BCE) to Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights (1505–1510) to Duchamp’s Fountain (1917), a remarkable lexicon of astonishing imagery has imprinted itself onto the cultural consciousness of the past forty thousand years.


Author Kelly Grovier devotes himself to illuminating these and more than fifty other seminal works in this radical new history of art. Stepping away from biography, style, and the chronology of “isms” that preoccupies most of art history, A New Way of Seeing invites interaction with art, learning from the artworks and not just about them. Grovier identifies that part of the artwork that bridges the divide between art and life and elevates its value beyond the visual to the vital. This book challenges the sensibility that conceives of artists as brands and the works they create as nothing more than material commodities to hoard, hide, and flip for profit.


Lavishly illustrated with many of the most breathtaking and enduring artworks ever created, Grovier casts fresh light on these famous works by daring to isolate a single, often overlooked detail responsible for its greatness and power to move.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, History, Art History, Visual Art

256 pages, Paperback

Published March 15, 2022

Reviews

[Vio Stoian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book. However, I found its vocabulary quite sophisticated.

[Natbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

A treat!

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grovier's book is indeed a new way of looking at art. He has selected 57 works -- from ancient sculpture to performance art -- and determined the "eye hook" (a small but frequently overlooked part of the whole which is the key to the entire work and it's enduring power). As with any work claiming to present the history of art in 57 works, his selection is open to debate. And while the eye hook device works quite well with most of the pieces, it's not always a show-stopper. But many of his insights into these works of art are absolutely fascinating. After reading this book, you'll never view art the same way again.

[Edie Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

“A New Way of Seeing” cracked open a huge basket of Easter eggs. In his book, Kelly Grovier presented a collection of innovative ideas and theories about famous works of art.

After a couple of degrees in Art History and faithfully studying art for more than an additional 40 years, I thought I knew all the cool stories. And yet out of these 57 revelations I was only familiar with a couple of them.

Are all the stories true? I can’t answer that. A lot is speculation and quite a few were pretty sketchy (no pun intended). Some struck me as down right ridiculous. But I thought quite a bit of it seemed credible. The author was very convincing.

There’s supposedly an Italian proverb that says, "Se non è vero, è ben trovato." This translates to, "Even if it's not true, it's a good story” I like to say, “even if it isn’t true, it should be”.

All in all the book made enjoyable reading.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is organized around close observation of 57 well-known works of art. For each work, the author identifies an “eye-hook” that “are what enable viewers to connect with a work—to bring it into their lives” and “also serve as crucial keys to understand how the power of great works is handed down.” I quote these lines to show the claims made for these “eye-hooks” as the organizing principle for understanding the art.

While the eye-hooks offer a few interesting insights into some well-known works of art, they are for the most part elements that I would not have noticed at all, and so are definitely not what would enable me to connect with the work. As one example, the eye-hook for Jackson Pollock’s One: Number 31 is a body of a fly shellacked into the painting. This isn’t something that one would notice even after staring for a long time at the 9 foot x 17 foot painting, and in fact it is barely visible in the close-up detail reproduced in the book. So, while there are a few thought-provoking insights into some of the works, the organizing conceit comes across as gimmicky and far-fetched.

A couple of other quibbles. For a book that urges close and careful observation of artworks, the reproductions are somewhat muddy. Also, there is no list of where the artworks are displayed, assuming one wanted to (and could) view the actual object.

[Diane B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the connections are a bit far-reaching but they are entertaining. Is Titian's painting of Bacchus and Ariadne really depicting a fart? The author makes a good case.

Other takes offer different context. Whistler's painting of his mother contains references to the slave-trade that he actively profited from; Seurat's Bathers contains homage to Chevreul's candles; the Sistene Chapel harmonizes with divine ratios of choral works.

Sometimes the language is a bit too thick and provoked a bit of eye-rolling for me, but I really did appreciate the perspective: "Where the monstrance in La Dispute, opposite the School of Athens, glints with the promise of Christian redemption, Heraclitus's ink pot posits an alternative eternity of infinite dissolution of self." Worth ruminating.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

With so many ways of looking at art and art is self-being subjective to the eye of the beholder and the creator. This book is a new and interesting way of looking at art form prehistory to the present day. Some well now works are shown in a new light which makes them more interesting. And make one look at them in a new light. My only quip with the book is the fact that most of the paintings and sculptures show in the book. Don’t have the museum’s and countries they are in.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book and because of it, I may not look at some works of art the same way again, ever! The premise is to find the “eye-Hook” of a work of art, something that catches the eye and once researched, actually changes or enhances the work immensely. Some of the author’s views or statements I didn’t quite agree with, as if the “eye-Hook” were a bit far-fetched, but that’s the fun of art and art history. Convince me that that’s what the artist meant! ;)

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this lovely art book for my birthday last year- so have been slowly working my way through it. The critic, Kelly Grovier, examines 57 diverse artworks, starting with Ashurbanipal Hunting Lions (c 645-635 BC) to Marina Abramovic's The Artist is Present (2010), looking at the background and details that make the piece unique. Some amazing expressions!

[Jay Perennial · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the way this book was written with the intention of isolating a single eye hook with each of the 57 works. Made it a lot less daunting than your traditional history of art book.

So many great insights and new perspectives on artworks I have seen countless times and many I was not aware of.

[Luciano · Rating 3 out of 5]

The analyses based on "eye-hooks" are often heavy-handed, so are some speculative connections between the pictures and what was happening in the world (not to mention the author's obsession with alliterations). Other than that, it brings some nice insights, and the selection of works mostly escapes the very obvious.

[Camilo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know how well this book holds up in the hands of a more practiced art critic but since I’m a novice I thought it was a very good survey.

[Omar Khedr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book that definitely expanded my vision. Warning don’t try to read 80 pgs in one setting like I did - the writing style is not meant for that

[Ronan Ladds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and like the format with the eye hooks. Good overview of historic art. Some descriptions were a little long and flowery for me tho

[Matt Eames · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dinner great perspectives on great at. An interesting approach to analysis although some ideas felt a little far fetched.

[Jean O'Callaghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. While I was familiar with many of the works of art featured in this book, Mr. Grovier's background information and insights were new to me and thought provoking. Each of the works of art gets a two or three page treatment, which makes this book perfect for reading on a commuter train. I'm looking forward to getting his next book.

[Jameson Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredibly dense but at times fascinating. The premise works works with some of the pieces but also really stretches to fit others. At its core it’s a good jumping off point for some of history’s greatest works of art